Panhala Fort and Vijaydurg

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Panhala Fort

   Panhala is where one of the most famous escapes in Maratha history began. In 1660 Shivaji was besieged here by the forces of the Bijapur sultanate and slipped away on a rainy July night, heading for the fort of Vishalgad, while a loyal commander, Baji Prabhu Deshpande, held back the pursuers in a narrow pass and gave his life doing so. The story is told in every Maharashtrian school and the pass, Pavan Khind, is a place of pilgrimage. The fort that Shivaji escaped from is among the largest in the Deccan, a long ridge top surrounded by walls and bastions, with three great gateways and a wealth of ruined buildings.

   Read the complete Panhala Fort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Panhala Fort is where the day begins. Next is Kas Plateau.

2. 2. Kas Plateau

   For most of the year, Kas is a bare, rocky plateau of black basalt, and then the monsoon arrives. Within weeks, from late August into September, the laterite surface is covered in a carpet of tiny wildflowers, in pink, yellow, purple and white, with balsams, orchids, sundews and species found nowhere else on earth. The plateau lies in the Western Ghats, a range with so many endemic plants and animals that it is one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, and it was included in the UNESCO listing in 2012. Locals call it the Valley of Flowers of Maharashtra.

   Read the complete Kas Plateau write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Kas Plateau comes up 92 km in. Next is Vijaydurg.

3. 3. Vijaydurg

   Vijaydurg is a sea fort on the Konkan coast of Maharashtra, built on a rocky headland where the Vaghotan river runs into the Arabian Sea, and the setting alone is worth the ride. The fort was an old hill-fort of the Shilahara king Bhoja before Shivaji took it in the seventeenth century, rebuilt it, and made it one of the main bases of the Maratha navy. Later Kanhoji Angre, the admiral who held the coast against Portuguese, British and Dutch ships, used it as a harbour for his fleet, and the walls, bastions and triple line of defences look out over water that his ships once patrolled. They say there was an underwater wall to wreck enemy vessels that came too close, a story told at the gate with some pride.

   Read the complete Vijaydurg write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   185 km in you reach Vijaydurg. Next is back through Kas Plateau.

4. 4. back through Kas Plateau

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Kas Plateau write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Kas Plateau, late in the day. Next is Panhala Fort.

5. 5. Panhala Fort

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Panhala Fort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Panhala Fort. That is the ride.